A gas turbine engine includes various compressor and turbine stator vanes, and rotor blades. The vanes and blades have airfoil profiles specifically configured for use in compressing air or expanding hot combustion gases. The airfoil profiles have three-dimensional contours which vary from root to tip between leading and trailing edges over the opposite pressure and suction sides thereof. The airfoil has a cambered or arcuate curvature between its leading and trailing edges, with the pressure side typically being generally concave and the suction side being generally convex.
The airfoils may be made by various manufacturing processes. The varying machining processes result in undesirable small grooves and sharp ridges as metal material around the circumference of the airfoil is removed. After the machining process, a polishing process must be conducted to obtain an aerodynamically smooth surface finish without irregularities. During a polishing process such as a grit blasting process, the airfoils are placed in a grit blast cabinet. Conventionally, a supporting tool is used to load one or more airfoils thereon and is placed together with the loaded airfoils in the cabinet. The supporting tool is operative within the cabinet for convenience of the grit blasting process. Considering the number of airfoils to be processed and the productivity thereof, it is desirable that the supporting tool should be configured for easy loading and unloading of the airfoils thereonto and therefrom. It is also desirable to configure the supporting tool for easy handling and positioning of the airfoils during the grit blasting process. Therefore, there is a need for an improved apparatus for supporting components, particularly airfoils of turbine engines in a grit blasting process.